Police are continuing their search for a suspect wanted for demanding money during an armed robbery at Ramada Inn.
Columbia Police Department officers were dispatched at 1:54 a.m. on April 3 to Ramada Inn at 901 Conley Road, a CPD news release stated.
A 5-foot-5-inch man in his early 20s, wearing a green sweatshirt with the hood cinched around his face, entered the hotel lobby where he wrote a robbery note to the night clerk demanding money.
The suspect implied he had a weapon through physical movements with his hands, but none was displayed. He left the business on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.
Before leaving the hotel, a Red Chevrolet Camaro with a black top was seen pulling out of the area, the news release stated.
Police have not identified a suspect, but are actively pursuing the search, CPD spokeswoman Latisha Stroer said.
Security images from cameras both inside and outside the hotel caught the suspect demanding money and leaving the property. Police released the security images Thurdsay, generating a response from the public regarding the recognition of the suspect or the vehicle.
“Detectives are looking into some Crime Stoppers (tips) that have come in,” Stroer said. “They’ve just got to check out if people come in with any leads.”
Crime Stoppers is a program that allows the community to provide anonymous information about criminal activity and often offers rewards for information that leads to the arrest of the criminal.
In this case, people called into Crime Stoppers saying they had seen the car seen pulling out of the hotel.
As more businesses invest in security technology, security cameras are increasingly used to identify suspects, Stroer said.
“A lot of businesses now have security cameras,” she said. “Even if they don’t, we can look at a neighboring business’s images.”
It is unclear how long the investigation will continue.
“It just depends on what information they have so far,” Stroer said. “If that information leads to other information, it all depends. If it doesn’t, the colder this case gets.”
No one was injured during the incident.
Police ask the public to call Crime Stoppers at 875-TIPS with information regarding the robbery.